Kewanee wrestler Mark Breedlove has prevailed in 29 of his 30 matches this season. But that one match in the loss column still resonates with him.

"He obviously went out there and wrestled a lot harder than me and I wasn't expecting him to be as good as he was," said Breedlove of his 6-3 loss to Wyatt Fox of Shelbyville in the quarterfinals of the PORTA Invitational Dec. 8. "Through the season, that match has pushed me a little harder to try to make sure that doesn't happen again."

Losing can be the best teacher of all, and Breedlove took that lesson to heart. He hasn't let it happen again as he stands 29-1 after cruising to the 138-pound title at the Kewanee Invitational last Saturday.

"He walked through our tournament pretty easily. He looks great and his technique is awesome right now," said Kewanee coach Charley Eads. "When he turns the switch on and he's ready to wrestle, he's going to be tough to beat."

Eads concedes Breedlove's switch has been on ever since that December defeat.

"He made one mistake. He took the kid lightly," said Eads. "Since then his head has been on straight and he hasn't taken anybody lightly. I think he's ready to cap off his high school career."

Breedlove has put up some impressive numbers in his wrestling career. He started his senior year with 89 victories, and has pushed the total to 118 entering this weekend's Bob Mitton Orion Invitational Wrestling Tournament. He's the seventh wrestler to crack Kewanee's 100-win club, joining Tate Sturtevant, Tommy VanDusen, Adam Breedlove, Andre Dunn, Trae Walters and Brandon Rohrig.

He's a three-time sectional qualifier, but has yet to take that ultimate step to the state tournament. It's not hard to figure out how Breedlove would like to close his high school career.

"I think my biggest goal right now is just to make it down to state. That would be really nice," said Breedlove.

And once again, a loss helps serve as motivation for Breedlove to make the trip to Champaign this season. His state dream was dashed last year at the Macomb Sectional by Eureka's Ben Pintar. It was the third defeat Pintar handed him last season.

"I can't tell you how angry and how frustrated I was last year not making it, just being one match away and losing to a kid I lost to three times before," said Breedlove. "It was just terrible not being able to beat this one person that stands in your way. It wasn't multiple people, it was just one person that eliminated me and kept me from going down last year. Hopefully I'll be able to make it down there and see where it goes from there."

If Breedlove completes the mission to state, it'll be at 132 pounds. He's wrestled at 138 all season, but is dropping down to 132 this weekend in Orion.

Page 2 of 2 - "That's what we expect to go for regionals," said Eads. "We're just practicing getting down to weight. That's why we're doing it this week for him to see how he wrestles down a weight. If he feels strong, we should be good to go for regionals at 132."

"My brother was really successful with it his senior year," said Breedlove of moving down a weight class.

Older brother Adam dropped from 145 to 140 for the state series his senior year (2008-09), and emerged as a state champion.

"This is my first time going down a weight. I should be a lot stronger," said Breedlove.

Eads believes if Breedlove can pair confidence with his physical talents, he'll be awfully tough to beat in the state series.

"When you start watching the best wrestlers, they know they're going to go out and get it. There's 100 percent commitment on the moves that they do," said Eads. "I think he's taking that to heart a little bit. You see him go out there and you know that he's going to do it now. He's like the Energizer bunny, he just keeps going."

Breedlove knows he has push himself in the coming weeks if hopes to finish his career in Champaign.

"The conditioning, training and drilling and the amount of time I put in this next three weeks is really going to have to step up," he said. "It's imperative that I do train to a much higher level than I have previously in order to beat some of these higher ranked kids. I also have to stay focused and not let it get to your head. I'm just going to do everything I can these next few weeks."

More about Mark Breedlove

Favorite Meal — "If I could have one meal right now, it would be a five-gallon Krispy Kreme doughnut sundae."

Favorite TV Show — Community

Favorite Movie — "Too many to count."

Favorite School Subject — English

School Activities — Wrestling, TEAM, J. Kyle Braid and Key Club

Spare Time — Filmmaking and hanging out with friends

Future Plans — Study filmmaking and television in college. Considering Bradley University and Florida State University. Neither has a wrestling team.